Confession time

I have recently come to the crushing realization that I am a messy sewer, a VERY messy sewer. To cut down on time when making bags, I do all the cutting for a number of bags all at once (it took me a while to work out that that would be more time efficient than cutting and making each bag individually) and after each cut, each trim, I sweep the off cuts onto the floor. It is only a tiny scrap of fabric after all.

But cutting 10 bags at once? The fabric, the interfacing? It all builds up. And then there are all the threads. Loads of them. All on the floor. I've heard of thread catchers (i know I should make one) but it's the immediate cleanness of the table that I like, and I can't see the floor when I'm sewing, so I only realise how messy the floor is when I finish the projects. Oops.

I'd love to know how you sew. Do you clean up as you go, or leave it all to the end?

New bags

Having dabbled in making bags with some old curtains I bought from a charity shop, I thought it was time I used some nicer fabric. And i found the perfect Miss Polly style fabric from Dragonfly Fabrics, an internet site that I spend far too much time on, ogling all the lovely designs they have. And so I made this bag with fabric from the Westfallenstoffe range.

I like the design of the bag, but I can't decide on the brooch. Satin or fabric? I might make both and see which sells the best.

I have a lot of work to do before my first fair at Easter - bags, brooches and headscarfs (pics of them soon)